Clock runs down on funding deal for WA’s remote Aboriginal communities

Clock runs down on funding deal for WA’s remote Aboriginal communities

Housing Minister Peter Tinley said the federal government was planning to walk away from a commitment that had been in place since the Aboriginal Referedum of 1967.

But federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion said Mr Tinley’s concerns were just his “latest dummy spit via media release” about the agreement, which expired on June 30. Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion is in a dispute with the WA Government over funding for remote Aboriginal communities.

Mr Tinley said a letter written by Premier Mark McGowan to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in May expressing his disappointment funding for the remote communities was not in the federal budget remained unanswered.

“The McGowan Government has a commitment to ensure that we never have forced closures of these communities,” he said.

“The state has and always will support them in administering the communities, to the tune of almost $90 million a year.

“The reality is that the Commonwealth has had a 50 year history – since the referendum of ’67 – to support Indigenous communities.”

Mr Scullion reacted angrily to the public statements from the state government.

“Minister Tinley’s last letter to me of June 11, 2018 said he would consider the Commonwealth’s offer of investment in remote Indigenous housing,” he said.

“It is very disappointing I have not heard back from Minister Tinley since then and I call on him to respond.”

Mr Scullion said because of this “latest dummy spit” he would seek urgent advice from the WA state government if they were also rejecting $43 million in yet-to-be approved funding to complete housing works in WA after the June 30 agreement deadline.

It is understood the federal government is frustrated after spending $1.2 billion to build 854 houses and 1705 refits in WA across 94 remote communities and  $1.5 billion on housing and homelessness, which had not been spent on Aborginal people.

WA Housing Minister Peter Tinley.
 

 

 

 

 

 

WA Housing Minister Peter Tinley.

But Mr Tinley said remote Aboriginal communities needed 1300 more houses over the next 10 years to keep up with population growth and address over-crowding.

“This jurisdiction is a third of the continent of Australia with 2.6 million people,” he said.

“The numbers are just beyond what a state can actually do.

“The federal government has historically jointly funded these communities. But in less than a week, it plans to walk away from this joint responsibility. Why?

“We need to secure the long-term future of the 165 remote communities in WA that thousands of people call home.”

By Nathan Hondros 27 June 2018 — 5:57am